Tire valve guard



March 10, E953 BOROD 2,631,065

TIRE VALVE GUARD Filed Oct. 8, 1949 /I IIIII 4 INVENTOR! HIS ATTYS.

MICHAEL. N. BORODIE Patented Mar. 10, 1953 UNITED .STATES T D F-PI CEClaims. 1

'My. invention, relates to new arid useful im- .provements1in.,;guar.ds.; for pneumatic f tire inflation valves, an. object .of.my invention being to "provide a device of the-character herewithindethetire valve "from beingfsheare'd off or otherwise damaged by.ob'structions'isuch as rocks," logs and the like encountered when thetractor is operated .ovei: rough territory.

.flAifuz-itherobjectof .my' invention is to. I provide .a Qdevice. of\the character. herewith'in described which is readily adaptabletoftractor wheels hav- ..ing.aperturdeor solid .webs.

Another. object .ofJny inventionis' to provide a device .of thecharacter herewithin described the use of which does .not'. interferewith the normal function of inflation .andfdflationio'f .ithei. tire'lby parentzto those skilled in .thefart to which this invention relatesas this-specification .proceeds,

my inventionconsists essentiallyin the arrangement and constructionof'pa'rts all as hereinafter more particularly described, referencebeing .had

:to theaccompanyingdrawings:in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of my device per se.

Figure 2 is a reduced fragmentary section of a wheel rim and tire withmy device in situ.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of my device showing an alternative formof attachment.

Figure 4 is a reduced side elevation of a tractor wheel with the secondembodiment of my device in situ.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate correspondingparts in the diiierent figures.

The projecting portion of conventional pneumatic tire inflation valveswhich normally is of several inches in length, is readily sheared orotherwise damaged when the tractor is operating in rough territorycontaining rocks, logs or the like. If the valve is sheared off,normally the pneumatic inner tube is severely damaged necessitating anew replacement or at the very least a rel- ":12 iative'ly. expensiverepairtnecess'itating there-vulcanisa'tion. of a replacementvalve'within' the tube. I Minor injuries to the threadedportion or'th'eiconventional valve often'occur causing considerable .scribedwhichprotects'the, projecting portion of -.difiiculty in the attachmentof such items'as'the valve cap, as well'asthe"screw-threaded-type oftire, pump iniiator. "Ihave therefore designed a relatively rugged guardwhich partially surrounds the projecting'portion of'the tirevalve'thereby preventing :sam'e from becoming "damaged *or sheared.

Proceeding now'to describe my invention-indetail; it will be seen uponreference to 'theacco'm- ,Zpanyin'g drawingthat'I haveprovide'd what Idefine'as a valveshrouding element '1 which consists of asemi-cylindrical,vertical wall portion 2 mounted upon a flanged basetandhaving what .lI. describe as apair 'oftapering flanks' l extend- .ingdownwardlyfrom the upperedge 50f the wall ,portion to the aforementionedfianged'base" 3. 'L'These flanks are iextensionsoi "thewallfiportion andare desirably *formedintegrally"therewith and welded to the base 3.

At'the junctionof the lower ends-'fi'of the ii'anks with the bases,apairofstrapsTareprovided f having engaging claws it ."upo'n the:distal" ends thereof whicharef'adapted to 'engajg'eo'ne'rim H .7 of anassociated rimfiange' it as willhereinafter 1 be described. These strapsand clawsare angulated to conform with the cross'sec'tionalconfiguration of therimand "flange'over which they are designed to "lieso that the aforementioned .shroud i partially enclosesjthe portion ofthe 'valve [2' extendinglthrough the rim flange 10. The base :3extendsrearwardly, and, in'this V embodiment, issemi-circularlycurvedto'lf'c'rm an attaching plate l3 upon which means areprovided tosecure the valve shrouding element 1 to the associated wheel flange.

In the embodiment shown in'Figures 1 and 2, I have provided anupstanding screw-threaded lug M adjacent the rear locus of curvature [5of the attaching plate together with an angulated strip ['6 having aconfiguration complementary to the cross sectional configuration of theopposite or inner rim flange I! over which it is adapted to be situated.An engaging claw I8 is provided upon distal end [9 of the strap I6 andengages the inner wheel rim 2!].

The inner end 2| of the strap It is angulated upwardly substantially atright angles to the strap and apertured to receive rotatably theadjustable connecting means 22 in the form of a bolt extending throughthe aperture in the inner end of the strap 21 and through an aperture in3 the lug I 4 within which aperture it is screwthreadedly engageable.The bolt 22 is designed to pass through one of the conventionalapertures 23 situated within the web 24 of the wheel adjacent the tirevalve 12 so that it spans the rim flanges Hi and H as clearly shown inthe cross sectional view of Figure 2.

In operation, the shroud l is positioned around the extending portion Hof the valve l2 with the claws '8 engaging the rim 8. The strap H5 isplaced upon the opposite rim 20 with the claw l8 engaging therearoundwhereupon the bolt 2-2 is engaged within lugs 14 and tightened to drawthe assembly together spanning the rim flanges and tensioning the claws8 and it thus preventing movement of the assembly upon the wheel. Underthese conditions, it will be appreciated that the extending portion llof the valve 12 is protected against damage by rocks, logs or the like.

In the alternative embodiment of my device shown in Figures 3 and 4, themeans to secure the valve shrouding element I to the wheel isparticularly suited for use upon wheels not provided with theconventional apertures 23 within the web 24.

The securing means comprises in this embodiment, a substantiallysemi-circular securing strap 25 attached to the rear of the attachingplate 13 and substantially at right angles thereto. The extremities 2Bof the strap 25 are apertured as at 21 and are detachably secured to theassociated wheel bolts 28 adjacent the valve 12. It will be appreciatedthat the strap 25 may be angulated in order to conform with the crosssectional configuration of the wheel and rim in order that theextremities 26 seat snugly behind the nuts attaching the wheel to thebolts 28. In this embodiment the shroud I together with the strap i andclaws 8 are similar to this portion of the device described in the firstembodiment and that the attaching means are situated upon one side ofthe wheel only instead of spanning the wheel rim flanges.

Since various modifications can be made in my invention as hereinabovedescribed, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same madewithin the spirit and scope of the claims without departing from suchspirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in theaccompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only andnot in a limiting sense.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A tire-valve guard for pneumatic tires on tractors and the like,comprising in combination a valve-shrouding element adapted to partiallyenclose the portion of the tire valve projecting inwardly from the rimflange of an associated wheel,

.4 said shroud being of semi-cylindrical configuration havin taperingflanks, a pair of claws extending from the lower ends of said flanksadapted to engage one rim of said Wheel, and means to secure saidelement to said wheel, said means spanning the said rim flangetransversely and engaging the opposite rim of said wheel, and adjustablemeans connecting said first-mentioned means with said shroud.

2. A tire-valve guard for pneumatic tires on tractors and the like,comprising in combination a valve-shrouding element adapted to partiallyenclose the portion of the tire valve projecting inwardly from the rimflange of an associated wheel, said shroud being of semi-cylindricalconfiguration and havin tapering flanks extending downwardly andoutwardly from the open end of said shroud, a pair of claws extendingfrom the lower ends of said flanks adapted to engage one rim of saidwheel, an attaching plate integrally formed with said shroud andextending rearwardly therefrom, a lug formed adjacentthe rear of saidplate, and means to secure said element to said wheel, said meansincluding an angulated strap spanning said rim flange transversely, arim-engaging claw on one end of said strap engageable with the oppositerim of said wheel, and adjustable connecting means extending betweensaid strap and said lug.

3. A tire-valve guard for pneumatic tires on tractors and the like,comprising in combination a valve-shrouding element adapted to partiallyenclose the portion of the tire valve projecting inwardly from the rimof an associated wheel, at least one claw extending from said shroud andadapted to engage one rim of said wheel, means to secure said element tosaid wheel, said means spanning the rim flange of said wheeltransversely and engaging the opposite rim of said wheel, and adjustablemeans connecting said first-mentioned means with said shroud.

MICHAEL N. BORODIE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Germany May 2, 1925

